There is a fish at my work who is very sick. He's a male VT betta. I'm not sure what is wrong with him but he swims on his side alot and sometimes flips in circles really fast for long periods of time. He is always on the surface of the water, it seems like he is just floating there. If he's still alive I would like to take him home to try and help him get better.

I would only be able to keep him in a small fish bowl with no heater/filter until he gets better then i would divide my larger aquarium and put him in there. I know i would have to change the water almost everyday in his bowl but what else could i do? I have aquarium salt and a medication called "Bettafix." Would those be okay to use? And if so how much salt should i put in? The bowl if probably 1gal if not a bit smaller. If i use the BettaFix is it still okay to do the water changes?

Sorry this is long, I just really wanna help him out. Oh and i dont think he has been eating lately either.

It sounds like SBD to me. Is his stomach distended like he's swallowed a small ball? Fasting him for a couple days and letting him pass his poop will help bring the swelling down. You can get daphnia, it that helps with this. Putting him in a 1G for now would be better. The water level in the bowl needs to come down so he doesn't have to struggle to get to the surface. A little aquarium salt will help also.

It sounds like SBD to me. Is his stomach distended like he's swallowed a small ball? Fasting him for a couple days and letting him pass his poop will help bring the swelling down. You can get daphnia, it that helps with this. Putting him in a 1G for now would be better. The water level in the bowl needs to come down so he doesn't have to struggle to get to the surface. A little aquarium salt will help also.

No, his stomach seems to look normal. I will fast him for a couple days but i dont think he will eat anyways. At least he is not eating now when he gets fed. Thanks for the quick reply!

He could've hurt his SBD or it could be something internal. One of my guys that recently passed away had this and he used to twirl around and it seemed like he had no control over his fins. It killed me to see him like that. :(

Without knowing much more, it is hard to say. How long has the fish been there? Was he recently moved there from somewhere else? Is the water changed frequently? Is there any aquarium salt added to the tank he is in?

Regarding bettafix, it is good for attacking bacterial infections. That does not seem to be what your little guy has. I would guess he has swim bladder disease from being overfed and/or stressed, but even that disease usually causes a lot of belly-sliding on the bottom, which you did not mention.

If you can add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 2.5 gallons of water to his current aquarium, and do it in a water change, not a staight salt add to his aquarium, he may improve. Betta Max may help, as it is s good anti-bacterial med.

I believe if you get a tank prepared at home (or bowl) with the right ratio of aquarium salt added, and have a stress-less transfer to your home, he can recover.

Without knowing much more, it is hard to say. How long has the fish been there? Was he recently moved there from somewhere else? Is the water changed frequently? Is there any aquarium salt added to the tank he is in?

Im not sure how long the fish has been there for, at least a couple weeks. He was in his little cup that they are sold in and the water was changed only twice a week. They are only fed bloodworms twice a week as well and thats it. ( i know its sad. ) He was just recently moved to a bigger aquarium that gets treated for something different everyday. Which is really not good, which is why i would like to get him out of there as soon as possible. And no there is no salt added to the tank he is in now. Anyways thanks for the advice!